The Light and Dark Side of TARP

Abstract

Employing four event dates of the U.S. “Troubled Asset Relief Program” (TARP) this paper empirically investigates the impact of the first announcement of TARP (September 19, 2008), the announcement of revised TARP (October 14, 2008), respective capital infusions under TARP-CPP and capital repayments on changes in shareholder value and risk exposure of 125 supported U.S. banks as perceived by the capital market through share price reactions for an entire sample period from September 19, 2008 to June 16, 2010. Our analysis reveals a light and a dark side of TARP. While announcements as well as capital repayments may restore market confidence and financial stability, equity capital injections to banks are observed to be a severe impediment to an increase in bank shareholder value and financial soundness.

Keywords: Financial crisis, TARP, Market efficiency, Event study

JEL Classification: G14, G21, G28